Title: The Oath
Author: Frank Peretti
Published by Thomas Nelson
Language: English
Format Read: Kindle
Edition Year: 2011
Pages: 564
ASIN: B006IE7XQQ
I tried to read a book by Frank Peretti in high school, but I lost interest so I didn’t finish it. I decided to try reading something by him again because a lot of Christians have raved over his books, and I’m trying to read more modern Christian fiction. The Oath seemed like a good read so I went with this novel. There is suspense from the beginning. I like how the different characters are introduced in the first chapter. The entire novel is an easy to follow thriller. He describes the setting in great detail since it’s tremendously important to the story. To me, the setting felt like a rural Alaska town settled by pioneers with the golden days behind it yet still populated with roughneck people in close quarters.
Impressions and Assumptions with Some Spoilers (click)
The main characters are investigating crimes and fighting this mystery creature, known as the “dragon”. According to the introduction, this creature is the personification of sin. The novel’s theme is about sin controlling, consuming, and eventually destroying humans. However, I was not expecting the creature to be an actual dragon. The whole time up until near the end of the story, I thought that the creature was going to be revealed to be a group of people committing the crimes and behind the disappearances- a cult of hunters dressed in high tech armor who have perfected the art of illusion and waging war. No, It’s an actual supernatural creature- a real dragon. The marks on people’s chests are real and not a metaphor.
I’ve not yet read a lot of modern Christian authors writing Christian fiction. Before reading this novel, I assumed that if any romance, it would not go past passionate kissing. Reading this novel, I was a little surprised at some of the content at first, but then I realized maybe I shouldn’t be because lost people act lost, there has to be some adult situations, and the content advances the story elements. The two characters Steve and Tracy, who are actively trying to solve the mystery, fornicate but it’s not described in detail. They get marked on their chest, and this act does advance the plot. However, I was very shocked that Tracy was eaten by the dragon. I really thought they would both make it by the end because she was a major character in the novel.
Other Thoughts
I’m glad that the ending was satisfactory. I would consider reading other works by this author. I meditated on the seriousness of sin after reading this.
Dates Read March 1 to 13 2022
A Love So Wordy 